Delays in tabulating the votes in Johnson County forced election watchers to wait until 8 a.m. today to get the unofficial results of the Republican primary race for Governor. Results are still unofficial, with recent mail-in ballots, provisional ballots, and some hand counted ballots not yet included.
Does your vote count? Take note of incumbent State Representative Steve Becker of Buhler who appears to have lost his seat by one vote.
The posted results show Secretary of State Kris Kobach winning the primary by a very narrow margin of 191 votes out of 311,009 recorded votes. Although the election has been called, Governor Colyer is not yet conceding the race, releasing a statement this morning saying that with, "the presence of thousands of as yet uncounted provisional ballots and the extraordinary problems with the count, particularly in Johnson County, this election remains too close to call."
Senator Laura Kelly won the Democrat primary with more than twice the votes of the closest challenger.
Republican Primary - Governor
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R-Jeff Colyer
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126,066
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41%
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R-Kris Kobach
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126,257
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41%
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R-Patrick "PK" Kucera
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3,123
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1%
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|
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R-Joseph Tutera Jr.
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1,541
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1%
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Democrat Primary - Governor
D-Arden Andersen
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12,845
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8%
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D-Joshua Svaty
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26,722
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18%
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Watkins wins Republican Primary for 2nd District US House of Representatives. Steve Watkins, a former Army Ranger and a newcomer to Kansas politics, has defeated three state senators, a state representative, and a former Speaker of the House to be the Republican candidate for the 2nd District Congressional seat retired by Rep. Lynn Jenkins. Watkins beat Senator Caryn Tyson with a hefty campaign account primarily funded by his father. Read the KC Star article here. Watkins will now face former Rep. Paul Davis (D-Lawrence) who ran for Governor in 2014.
R-Vernon J. Fields
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1,950
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3%
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R-Steve Fitzgerald
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9,098
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12%
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R-Steve Watkins
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19,753
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26%
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The incumbents won the other congressional primary races (Marshall, Yoder, Estes). There was a close Democrat primary to select the candidate to challenge Kevin Yoder in the general election, with Sharice Davids emerging as the winner. Davids is Native American, a mixed martial arts fighter and openly LGBT. Read article here. Democrats believe Yoder's seat could be vulnerable in the November election.
Democrat Primary for 2nd District Congress
D-Sharice Davids
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22,891
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37%
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D-Brent Welder
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20,803
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34%
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D-Sylvia D. Williams
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2,896
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5%
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Insurance Commissioner:
R-Vicki Schmidt
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148,936
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52%
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R-Clark Shultz
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137,636
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48%
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Schmidt will run against Nathaniel MacLaughlin (D-Kansas City) in the general election.
Secretary of State:
R-Randy Duncan
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56,214
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20%
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R-Craig McCullah
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31,854
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12%
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R-Scott Schwab
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106,569
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38%
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R-Dennis Taylor
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55,672
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20%
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Schwab will face Brian "BAM" McClendon, a software designer, developer and engineer with connections to Google Earth and Uber, for the general election in November.
No More Campaigning: There are 16 statehouse races that had only a primary race – in other words, the winning candidate has no general election opposition filed for the seat. 12 of these are Republican races and 4 are Democrat.
District 6 – Incumbent Rep. Jene Vickrey (R-Louisburg) defeated challenger Clifford Blackmore (R-Paola). He won the vote 62% to 38%.
District 11 – Incumbent Rep. Jim Kelly (R-Independence) defeated challenger John Lowrance (R-Independence). He won the vote 76%-24%.
District 12 – Incumbent Rep. Doug Blex (R-Independence) defeated challenger Brad Hall (R-Independence). He won the vote 69%-31%.
District 13 – Incumbent Rep. Larry Hibbard (R-Toronto) defeated challenger Londa Tindle (R-Fredonia). He won the vote 55%-45%.
District 22 – Incumbent Rep. Nancy Lusk (D-Overland Park) defeated challenger Michael L. Coleman III (D-Overland Park) with 89% of the vote.
District 46 – Incumbent Rep. Boog Highberger (D-Lawrence) defeated challenger Benjamin Ferlo (D-Lawrence). He won the vote 88%-12%.
District 55 – Incumbent Rep. Annie Kuether (D-Topeka) defeated challenger Joseph Stringer (D-Topeka) 88%-12%..
District 64 – Rep. Susan “Suzi” Carlson (R-Clay Center) beat Kathy Martin (R-Clay Center) 53%-47% to win the seat retired by Rep. Susie Swanson.
District 74 – Stephen Owens (R-Hesston) defeated six term incumbent Rep. Don Schroeder (R-Hesston) 55%-45%. Owens is considered more conservative with endorsements from the NRA and Kansas Chamber.
District 75 – Former Rep. Will Carpenter (R-El Dorado) will return to Topeka after winning the primary 60%-40% against one term incumbent Rep. Mary Martha Good. This was a rematch - Good beat Carpenter in the 2016 election by only 40 votes as a more moderate leaning candidate.
District 80 – Wellington businessman Bill Rhiley beat one term incumbent Rep. Anita Judd-Jenkins (R-Arkansas City) 58% to 42%. Rhiley had conservative endorsements.
District 87 – This seat is retired by Roger Elliot. Renee Erickson (R-Wichita) beat Jeff Kennedy (R-Wichita) 56%-44%.
District 89 – Rep. KC Ohaebosim (D-Wichita) held onto his seat against two Democrat challengers from Wichita – LeSean Tarkington and Marty Keenan.
District 104 – Rep. Steven Becker (R-Buhler) appears to have lost his seat by one vote to challenger Paul Waggoner (R-Hutchinson) 2,014-2,013. There will be a recount.
District 107 – Incumbent Rep. Susan Concannon (R-Beloit) beat challenger Sam Sacco (R-Concordia) 56%-44%.
District 124 – Martin “Marty” Long (R-Ulysses) won 64% of the vote over Jeffrey G. Locke (R-Sublette) to fill the seat retired by Rep. Steve Alford.
The Kansas House of Representatives may see a slight shift to the right. There are several House races where conservative Republican candidates unseated more moderate Republicans that won in 2016. In addition to the losses of Reps Schroeder, Good, Judd-Jenkins, and Becker -
District 8 – Rep. Patty Markley (R-Overland Park) lost to Chris Croft (R-Overland Park) 58%-42%. Croft will face Michele Lobitz (D-Olathe) in November.
District 28 – Rep. Joy Koesten (R-Leawood) lost to Kellie Warren (R-Leawood) 42%-58%, who received conservative endorsements. Warren will take on Brian Clausen (D-Leawood) in the general election.
On the other hand - conservative Republican John Whitmer was also unseated:
District 93 - Republican incumbent John Whitmer (R-Wichita) lost to challenger J.C. Moore (R-Clearwater) by 52 votes (1136-1084). Moore will run against Clifton Beck (D-Clearwater) in the general election. Moore is a retired educator with a doctorate in chemistry - he cites four priorities: fiscal responsibility, excellent schools, great roads and expansion of KanCare.
Other House Primary Results:
District 5 - Mark Samsel (R-Wellsville) beat Renee Slinkard (R-Parker) and will run against Lassey Murphy (D-Lane) in November to fill the House seat left behind by Kevin Jones, who ran for 2nd District Congress.
District 14 – Charlotte Esau (R-Olathe) won the House seat held by her husband Keith Esau as he seeks the Secretary of State’s office. She beat Aaron Young and Tom Stanion with 46% of the vote and will face Democrat Angela Schweller in the general election.
District 17 – Rep. Tom Cox (R-Shawnee) won his primary with 75% of the vote against Jim Eschrich. He will now face Democrat Laura Smith-Everett of Shawnee
District 18 - Incumbent Rep. Cindy Neighbor (D-Shawnee) beat challenger Andrew Hurla with 82% of the vote, and now faces Republican primary winner Eric Jenkins, who beat Cathy Gordon.
District 27 – Rep. Sean Tarwater (R-Stilwell) won his primary with 46% of the vote against Karen Snyder and Rochelle Bird. Tarwater will face Democrat Nicole Rome of Overland Park in the general election.
District 29 - Former Rep. James Todd (R-Overland Park) beat Peggy Galvin to set up a rematch against current Rep. Brett Parker (D-Overland Park).
District 30 – Wendy Bingesser (R-Olathe) beat Colleen Webster by less than 200 votes. Bingesser is considered more conservative than Webster. She will face the winner of the Democrat primary for this seat, Brandon Woodard(D-Lenexa) who beat Matthew Calcara. This seat is left open by Rep. Randy Powell, who did not file for election.
District 38 - Incumbent Rep. Willie Dove (R-Bonner Springs) won over Noel Hull with 64% of the vote. He will face Democrat Stuart Sweeney of Linwood in November.
District 39 – Former Rep. Owen Donohoe (R-Shawnee) won by 203 votes (54%) over Kristy Acree with Rep. Shelee Brim is not running for reelection. Brim had endorsed Acree. Donohoe will now face Democrat Michael Bolton.
District 40 - Incumbent Debbie Deere (D-Lansing) beat Donald Terrien in the primary and will face Republican David French in the general election.
District 42 - Incumbent Jim Karleskint won his primary over Lance Neelly with 53% of the vote (less than 200 votes).
District 45 - Former lobbyist Cynthia Smith (R-Lawrence) won the primary against Ronald Thacker for the seat held for many years by retiring Rep. Tom Sloan. The Democrat primary was won by Mike Amyx over Steven Davis and Aidan Loveland Koster.
District 49 – House Speaker Pro Tem Scott Schwab is running for Secretary of State. Megan Lynn won 89% of the vote over Fsehazion Desalegn. Lynn has been endorsed by Schwab. Lynn will now face Democrat Darnell Hunt.
District 59 - Incumbent Rep. Blaine Finch (R-Ottawa) beat former Rep. Shari Weber with 71% of the vote. He faces Democrat John Hall of Quenemo in the general election.
District 86 - Incumbent Rep. Jim Ward (D-Wichita) beat Alexander Vulgamore with 86% of the vote. He now faces Republican Jim Price of Wichita for the general election.
District 93 - Republican incumbent John Whitmer (R-Wichita) lost to challenger J.C. Moore (R-Clearwater. Moore will not run against Clifton Beck (D-Clearwater) in the general election.
District 97 - Nick Hoheisel (R-Wichita) beat Michael Waller by 108 votes to fill the seat left by retiring Rep. Les Osterman (R-Wichita). Hoheisel will face Rebecca Jenek (D-Wichita) in November.
District 99 - Kristi Kirk (D-Wichita) beat Gerald Winget in order to challenge incumbent Rep. Susan Humphries (R-Wichita) in November.
District 100 - Incumbent Rep. Daniel Hawkins (R-Wichita) beat challenger James Francis Breitenbach with 76% of the vote. Hawkins will face Democrat Jennifer Winn in the general election.
District 113 - Incumbent Rep. Greg Lewis won his primary over Brett Fairchild with 66% of the vote. The Democrat primary was won by David Curtis over David Serrault.